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Child Support Enforcement In RI

Is your ex-spouse failing to pay child support? Get help from an experienced
family law attorney.

Once the court has established a child support order, it remains in force
until it is legally modified in family court. A parent that fails to pay
support, and does not gain a legal modification is not released from the
obligation to pay the owed child support, and the unpaid balance must
be paid, and cannot be changed retroactively. If you are having trouble getting
child support paid, there are several actions that can be taken to get the matter resolved,
whether in your own state or another (Uniform Interstate Family Support Act)

Getting Child Support Through Wage Garnishment

One of the most effective ways of getting payments is by withholding wages,
which are then paid to the Rhode Island Family Court, and then disbursed
to you by the State Disbursement Unit.

Wage garnishment is one of the fastest ways for a parent to finally get
the support that was ordered by the court, and can be implemented quickly
when a parent has failed to pay. There can be some problems with wage
garnishment, as if the other parent is unemployed, there are no wages
to garnish, but there could be other methods that could allow you to recover
some of the money owed to you for the care of your children.

Other Options To Obtain Child Support

If wage garnishment does not succeed, there are a variety of actions that
can be taken to collect this support, including:

Call My Firm For Experienced Legal Representation

If you are not getting the support payments that were ordered, my firm
can put the process in motion. A parent that has willfully failed to pay
court-ordered support could be incarcerated. A substantial portion of
the outstanding balance must be paid before the person is released from
custody. Criminal proceedings could result for a willful failure to pay
child support when the amount is higher than $5,000. In these cases, a
first offense can lead to six months in prison. It is now a federal felony
to have unpaid child support for more than 2 years if the amount exceeds
$10,000. There are also criminal charges that could be filed at the state level.